Amit MukerjeeDear Mevlut,It was wonderful to meet you and spend five days in Turkey with Pomegranate Tour.It was amazing to see the coordination at each location and the wonderful groups and guides.Everything was exactly as mentioned in the tour.The lunches arranged were very good with wonderful ambiance.The hot...

Artvin is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the north-eastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia.

The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.

Artvin is an attractive area of steep valleys carved by the Çoruh River system, surrounded by high mountains of Kaçkar, Karçal and YalnÄ±zçam and forest with much national parkland including the Karagöl-Sahara, which contains the ï¿½zavÅŸat and Borçka lakes. The weather in Artvin is very wet and mild at the coast, and as a result is heavily forested. This greenery runs from the top all the way down to the Black Sea coast. The rain turns to snow at higher altitudes, and the peaks are very cold in winter.

The forests are home to brown bears and wolves. The Çoruh is now being dammed in 11 places for hydro-electric power, including the 249 m Deriner Dam and others at Borçka and MuratlÄ±.

Local industries include bee-keeping especially in Macahel region.

Artvin is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

History

The area has a rich history but has not been studied extensively by archaeologists in recent decades. Artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age and even earlier have been found. The Hurri settled in the Artvin area in 2000 BC and were succeeded by the Urartu civilisation, based in Lake Van. Later, the area was part of the kingdom of Colchis but was always vulnerable to invasions, first the Scythians from across the Caucasus, then the Muslim armies led by Habib, son of Caliph Uthman who controlled the area from 853 AD to 1023 when it was conquered by the Byzantines from the Sac Emirate linked to the Abbasids.

The Seljuk Turks of Alparslan conquered the area in 1064 AD; but after his death, it was briefly recaptured by the king of Georgia with the help of the Byzantines, but by 1081 was in Turkish hands again when SaltukoÄŸlu Beylik managed to take it back with the aid of MelikÅŸah. With the collapse of the Seljuks, the Artvin area came under the control of the Ildeniz tribe of the Anatolian Turkish beyliks,Fighting for control between various Turkish clans continued until the Safavids taking advantage of this infighting, were able to conquer the area in 1502.

The Ottoman Empire under Mehmet II defeated the Empire of Trebizond to bring the eastern Black Sea coast and the mountanous hinterland under their control.

In 1924, the Liva Sanjak was abolished and the Artvin Vilayet was created. Artvin Vilayet was combined with Rize to form Çoruh Vilayet with the capital at Rize. It was separated into Artvin Province with the districts of Ardanuç, Arhavi, Artvin, Borçka, Hopa Murgul, ï¿½zavÅŸat and Yusufeli at 4 January 1936.

Places of interest

The city of Artvin has an ancient castle and a number of Ottoman period houses, mosques, and fountains.

Every June, there is a "bull-wrestling" festival in the high plateau of Kafkasor

The Parekhi monastery, a Georgian monastery

Popular places for walking and outdoor expeditions.

The Kackar Mountains are among the most-popular venues for trekking holidays in Turkey.

Machahel Valleyon the Georgian border, is another popular location for walking holidays.

Papart forest in ï¿½zavsat

Genciyan Hill in ï¿½zavÅŸat, overlooks the border and theBinboÄŸa lakes.

The lakes of ï¿½zavÅŸat and Borçka and the crater lake of Kuyruklu.

The Çoruh River is excellent for rafting and championships have been held here * There are a number of Georgian churches in the valleys of Yusufeli.

Bilbilan YaylasÄ± - a typical Turkish high meadow.

Savangin pre-historical cave with an inscription written unknown or unsolved alphabet

Hunting is highly recommended in the area.

How to go to Artvin ?

You may reach to Artvin by bus from Ankara or Istanbul directly or by air from Istanbul.